Overview
- Existing-home sales rose 1.5% in September to a 4.06 million annual pace, the highest since February and up 4.1% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.
- The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.19% for the week ending Oct. 23, the lowest in more than a year, Freddie Mac reported.
- Inventory improved to 1.55 million homes, up 14% year over year and equal to 4.6 months of supply, with properties spending a median 33 days on the market.
- Demand remains uneven as the median price rose 2.1% year over year to $415,200, first-time buyers held at about 30% of sales, and transactions skewed toward higher price tiers, including a 20% jump in $1 million-plus sales.
- Zillow flagged an "unseasonably resilient" September with new listings up 3% year over year and 15 major metros favoring buyers, while a CNBC survey found many shoppers waiting for further rate declines and the federal shutdown slowed some transactions, including flood insurance processing.